Get Ready to Stir Up Goodness: CACFP Week 2026
January 30, 2026
CACFP Week is a national education and information campaign sponsored annually the third week of March by the National CACFP Sponsors Association. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of how the USDA's Child and Adult Care Food Program works to combat hunger.
The goal of the CACFP is to serve nutritious meals to children in child care homes, centers and afterschool programs, as well as adults in day care. Research also indicates that the CACFP is an indicator of quality child care.
This year, CACFP Week will be celebrated from March 15-21, 2026. We’re highlighting how the CACFP is Stirring Up Goodness across the country, with its positive impact and the people who make it happen, one meal at a time.
Here are seven ways that you can make the most out of CACFP Week this year.
1. Let Us Know You’re Participating
We love seeing your support for the CACFP, so we’ve created an event in our calendar that you can register for. This will put you on our email list to make sure you get all the materials you need to celebrate with the CACFP community. We’ll even send you a complimentary CACFP Week Sample Menu with a focus on how children and adults can be more involved in preparing the meals and snacks that they eat.
Additionally, registering for CACFP Week will give you one entry into this year’s giveaway. One lucky winner will receive a prize package valued at over $600, which includes a $250 eGift Card, a Smiling Spoons set, a Little Chefs Starter Set, 25 copies of the 2026 Child Nutrition Today magazine, and complimentary registration to the National Child Nutrition Conference virtual option. We’ll also be selecting 10 more winners to receive one Smiling Spoons set. After you’ve registered on our event calendar, you can also fill out this form for an additional entry into the giveaway.
2. Attend Our Free Webinar in February
We’re hosting a free webinar on Tuesday, February 10 called Stirring Up Goodness: Resources for CACFP Week. Registering for the webinar will give you one more entry into our giveaway, plus you’ll get another one for attending. We’ll help you prepare for CACFP Week, and you’ll discover how you can celebrate and raise awareness within your network. In order to fit your schedule, we’re hosting two sessions: one at 2:00 pm Eastern and the other at 8:00 pm Eastern.
3. Download Materials in Advance
We have a variety of activity pages and educational PDFs that you can use to teach your participants, young and older alike, how they can have fun in the kitchen. There are five free activity pages to download – one for every weekday of CACFP Week, as well as an educational PDF that focuses on Adding Goodness to Every Meal. If you’re an NCA member, you can also download a PDF called Goodness in the Kitchen, which features six tips to make food preparation easier for you or your participants if they would like to help out.
At the end of the week, you can pass out Certificates of Awesomeness. These can be given to anyone who participates in CACFP Week, whether that is the children or adults in your care, kitchen staff or even administrators at your sponsoring organization. Let everyone know that they did an awesome job bringing attention to the CACFP!
4. Spread the Word in Your Community
We have more great materials that you can use to be an advocate for the CACFP. Want some tips on how to make CACFP Week your own? Download the Provider Promotion or Sponsor Promotion to use for yourself, or to distribute to the providers or sponsors in your network. You can also personalize a free community outreach flyer to advertise that your child care center participates in the CACFP, an indicator of quality care. NCA members can download a newsletter to send home to families that lets them know what the CACFP is and why we’re celebrating CACFP Week. All of these materials are available in both English and Spanish.
5. Be a CACFP Advocate
You can help spread the word about the CACFP at the local, state and federal level. Last year, with the help of the CACFP community, we were able to get resolutions in both the House and Senate that recognized CACFP Week, as well as proclamations from 13 different states. Our goal is to have CACFP Week recognized in all 50 states!
You can download a press release template to send to your local newspaper to shine a light on what you’re doing to stir up goodness in your program, and you can also submit Requests for Proclamation to both your local and state elected officials. We also encourage you to write a letter to your Senators supporting a resolution to recognize CACFP Week.
Need help contacting your elected officials? You can use our Action Center by going to “View Your Election Center” and entering your home address to find the contact information for both Senators and your Congressional Representative. To get contact information for your governor, you can use this directory.
6. Kick Off CACFP Week with Free Training
We’re hosting another free webinar on Monday, March 16. Discovering Goodness Through Food Adventures will show you how to turn mealtime into a moment of discovery. You’ll learn five practical ways to engage children and adults with healthy foods in any setting, as well as understand how hands-on food activities build confidence and encourage trying new foods.
You’ll also get more entries into the giveaway for both registering and attending this webinar.
7. Be Active on Social Media
We’re bringing back our Social Media Challenge, and one CACFP operator will win a $100 eGift card. It’s up to you to decide what you want to post, so all you need to do is tag @NationalCACFP on Facebook or Instagram and use #CACFPWeek and #StirringUpGoodness so we can see and share your celebrations.
This year, we have two fun elements to add to the social media campaign. You can print out our chef hat template for participants to wear, as well as cards to print that say “I made this!” or “We made this!” to show off what you made in the kitchen.
Looking for post inspiration or short on time? You can download social media images and banners on our website, and we also have some sample captions for you to use.
